Yuanhong

Yuanhong is made from glutinous rice, wheat qu and Jianhu Lake water, fermented until almost all the sugar has turned into alcohol. It is also the starting point for another style: shanniang, the semi-sweet Shaoxing wine, is made by using aged yuanhong in place of water.

The dry heart of Shaoxing

Yuanhong is the most direct expression of Shaoxing wine: rice, wheat qu and Jianhu Lake water, fermented to dryness. It is lighter in body than the semi-dry styles, with a clean, savoury taste and a slightly bitter finish.

Its name

Its name is often explained as 'first red', and its jars were traditionally painted red on the outside. Another popular name for dry Shaoxing wine is 状元红 (zhuàngyuán hóng), 'the top scholar's red', linked to the tradition of wine buried at a son's birth.

How to taste it

Yuanhong is amber, with aromas of nuts, toasted rice and a light savoury note. Taste it at room temperature first, then gently warmed: the warmth softens its slight bitterness and lifts the aromas.

For European palates

If you like dry fino or amontillado sherry, yuanhong is the natural entry point to Chinese rice wine: dry, savoury and made to be drunk with food.

Where it fits

On the Shaoxing scale it is the dry end, followed by semi-dry jiafan, semi-sweet shanniang and sweet xiangxue.